Video: On Your Side confronts estate sale owner accused of owing over $8K to Arizonans

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - The On Your Side team found themselves going into a Phoenix restaurant around 7 a.m. after receiving a tip that we’d find Toni Geiger having her morning coffee. Sure enough, we found her.

Initially, she appeared nervous but soon confessed that she owed people money. Some people are like Jeanne Burton and her sisters, who say they’re owed thousands. “It’s a betrayal. We were betrayed. And stabbed in the back really,” Burton told On Your Side last September. In a previous On Your Side report, Burton and family members say they hired Geiger and her company, “Loving Hands,” to sell off their mom and dad’s personal belongings in an estate sale.

Their parents died within several months of each other after being married for over 70 years. After selling all the items, they say Geiger skipped off with all the proceeds presumed to be thousands of dollars. “How do you do that to a family that just lost their parents and are grieving?” Burton asked aloud. Since that story was released, others have come forward to On Your Side and shared similar stories.

On Your Side tried tracking down Geiger to past residences, including Prescott, where she once lived but had always turned up empty-handed until recently. She admitted to owing roughly five families more than $8,000. But when asked why she couldn’t just sell the stuff and pay the families back, Geiger said, “Well, truly, it was payroll.” In other words, she claims no proceeds were left after selling off items and paying her workers.

Her various victims, like Burton and her sisters, say that excuse is a joke. Geiger told she owes money to roughly five families, including Jeanne Burton and her sisters. Geiger even promised six months ago to start a payment plan with the family. She said she had just sent her first payment to Burton for $500. However, when On Your Side followed up with Burton and her sisters, they said she’d never sent them the money.

Still, Geiger maintains she will pay everyone back. “In fact, the day I do it, I will call you,” she said. With that, she went back inside to finish her coffee. Her victims say it’s difficult to accept. In the meantime, On Your Side will be waiting for that phone call. For now, Geiger says she’s out of the estate sale business and is now in the moving business helping senior citizens move into assisted living centers.

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